Time To Keep It Simple serves as a record of my life as a traveler, writer, genealogist, photographer, target sports enthusiast, Rotarian, Mason, Jew, PR professional, and many other (mostly positive) things. In addition to this daily blog I am also the man behind the curtain (not named Oz) at gettingyourphil.blogspot.com and I previously blogged at fromgoytooleh.blogspot.com.

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Sunday Search: Membership Approved!

On
June 17th my family, being descendants of Private John Redcross who
served in the Amherst County Militia, was officially approved for membership in
the Sons of the American Revolution. The wait is finally over and years of
genealogical research has now been verified. A lineage that was absent from our
tree only a decade ago is now ingrained in our collective identity. An identity
that now consists of Monacan blood and a history of patriotism that traces back
to the founding of this country including our participation at the Battle of
Yorktown (more about this story in a future post). There is no longer a question or beginning our statements with “I think”
or “we believe”, now we can respond with certainty and clarity. Now we know.

This
is the first of many applications that I will be submitting to verify various
lines of my family history. In fact, I am nearing the end of completing my second
application (first supplemental application) this time tracing back to Private John
Noblit on my mother’s side of the family. Like the first, this is a lineage
which we were unaware of until only a couple of years ago. With little
information having been passed down in the family, much of what I have found
over the last decade, including this discovery, was forgotten but now can no
longer be considered lost.

While
I am uncertain as to the order of subsequent applications there are many lines
which I need to investigate further. Of the dozens and dozens of possibilities it
will all come down to a simple process of proceeding with the one which holds
the most promise and, more importantly, the most documentation. It will be a
lifelong project that will never be “complete” and I am okay with that as each
application, each patriotic line that is verified, strengthens the roots of our
family tree.

There
will be many applications that will be submitted but it is this approval that
means the most. This is the first step to that lifelong process and is
something that I am proud to pass down to my son. We are part of a greater
history of this country and our family, like many others past and present, can
now make the honest claim that we helped to form and shape this nation. This is
the next step in our continued effort to strengthen our ties with our heritage which
was started decades ago when those initial family lines were revealed to many
of us. This is our history and we can never again allow it to be forgotten. This
is an important part ensuring that we will always remember.